End folding and sealing machine for cartons



G. A.ROB|NSO.N.

END FOLDING AND.SEALING MACHINE FOR CARTONS.

I APPLICATION F|LED JUNE23, 1919- R 33,749 Patented May 4, 1920,

4 SHEETS SHEET I.

I7 ll/671 007 G. A.ROB|NSON.

"END FOLDING AND SEALING MACHINE FOR CARTONS.

' APPLIQATION FILED JUNE23, 1919.

4 SHEETSSHEET 2.

1,338,749. Patented May 4, 1920.

F og .2.

a. KW wiiafww e. AEROBINSON.

END FOLDING AND SEALING MACHINE FOR CARTONS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE23, I919. I 1,338,749. Patented May 119m,

I 1 1X26 TUCOW" G. A.ROB|NSON.

END FOLDING AND SEALING MACHINE FOR CARTONS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 23. 1919.

1,338,749. P tented May 4, 1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGIEl A. ROBINSON, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 PNEUMATICSCALE CORPORATION, LIMITED, OF QUINCY, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OFMAINE.

END FOLDING AND SEALING MACHINE roa CARTONS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 4, 1920.

7 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE A. ROBINSON, acitizen of the United States, residing at Quincy, county of Norfolk,State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in End Folding and Sealing Machines for Cartons, of whichthe following is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawin s.

The invention is for an improvement in machines for folding and sealingthe end forming flaps of cartons.

Most of the, knockdown cartons are formed of a single sheet of materialwhich is creased or scored to form four. side-forming panels with a sidesealing lap, and each panel has at each end a flap. The flaps at one endof the panels are intended to be folded and sealed to form the bottom ofthe carton, and the flaps at the other end are intended to be folded andsealed after the carton is filled to close the top of the filled carton.The present invention relates to mechanism especially intended forfolding and sealing the bottom forming flaps as will be described withmore particular reference to the bottom. Preliminary to the folding andsealing of the bottom forming flaps, the side'sealing lap has beensealed and the carton is squared-out into tubular form with the endflaps distended, and the squared-out tubular carton is then slipped ontoa forming block shaped to the interior contour of-the squared-out cartonand then the bottom forming flaps are folded against one end of the saidblock and the overlapping flaps are sealed together. The machine mayhowever be employed in folding and sealing the top of the carton and theclaims are intended to cover a machine of the character hereinafterdescribed whether used as a bottom sealer or as a top sealer.

In machines of this character it is necessary that the folding devicesand the gluing devices shall not only come in proper sequence withrelation to each other, but also they should be properly timed withrelation to each others movements so that there will not beinterference, between the folding devices and the gluing devices. It isalso desirable that when one of the flaps is folded it shall be held infolded position until the next overlapping flap comes up to hold it,

and that the last folded flap shall be the end flaps are folded andglued.

in position for a period of time until the sealing has becomesufliciently dry to prevent its becoming unsealed. As heretofore'folding devices and the retaining devices definitely fixed withrelation to each other, and constructed in such a manner that any lostmotion or wear in the parts will not materially change their relation toeach other.

The cartons are usually rectangular in form, being wider in onedirection than inthe other, so that they have two opposite wide panelsand two opposite narrow pan els. The end forming flaps connected withthe two narrow panels, which we will term the end panels, are usuallyshorter than the longer dimension of the bottom of the carton, so thatthese two flaps connected with the end panels either slightly overlapeach other without extending clear across the bottom or sometimes barelymeet, and still again there is a space between them. Each of the othertwo flaps, however, that is those connected with the broad or sidepanels, is usually of sufficient length to cover the entire bottom ofthe carton, one overlapping the other.

One feature of the invention consists in mounting the folding mechanismfor the two narrow flaps, and alsothe gluing mechanism, upon a rotaryspider which moves in a manner to successively bring the foldingmechanisms for said two flaps and also the gluing mechanisms intooperative position while the carton is held upon its forming block.Another feature of the'invention relates to the means for folding thetwo opposite side flaps successively 'ager 11- other feature of theinvention consists in mounting the spiderupon a rotary shaft and drivingthe folding mechanism for the two side flaps by means of devices mountedon the same shaft as that on which the spider is mounted. 1 7

Another feature of the invention consists in mounting the gluing rollsand the flap retainers on the rotary spider which rotates in a plane atright angles to the plane of the end of the block a ainst which thebottom forming flaps are olded. So far as I am aware, it'is entirely newwith me to mount the glue rolls, the flap folders and the flapretainers, either one or two or all three of the above, on a rotaryspider which rotates in a plane at right angles to the end of the blockon which the flaps are folded.

Another feature of the invention consists in mounting the gluing roll ona springseated slide so that the gluing roll can yield to the pressureas it wipes over the surface of the flap, whether the gluing roll ismounted on a rotary spider or otherwise mounted,

and whether it travels in a circular path or in a straight path.

Another feature of the invention consists in having one glue roll toglue the under surface of the two end flaps, that is the two short flapswhich are first folded and a second glue roll independent of the firstglue roll to glue the first folded side fiap after it is folded over thefolded end flaps.

Another feature of the invention consists in the method by which theglue roll is restricted from coming in contact with the end of the blockand thereby smearing the block in case there happens to be no carton onthe particular block when the glue roll in course of rotation of thespider would naturally engage the carton, if there was a carton on theblock.

Another feature of the invention consists in means for preventing theglue roll from coming into contact with the block in the space betweenthe two narrow or short end flaps which are first folded where the endflaps are so short that they do not meet. I believe that this idea isbroadly new with me.

Another feature consists in the form of flap retainer which retains theflap in folded position, and consists in forming the contacting'surfaceon the arc of a circle with the some center as the spider.

Another feature consists in mechanism which cause 'the glue roll carriedby the spider to strike the flap at a tangent, so that whenever the sizeof the block and the carton are changed to either wider or narrower theglue roll will not strike the side or corner of the block or strike thebottom of the block on the rising curve.

The mechanism of the present invention is intended to be used inconnection'with a machine having a horizontally rotary spider withdepending forming blocksto hold a squared-out carton during the foldingand I sealing of. the bottom forming flaps, such for instancevas shownin Patent No. 736,237 to W. H. Doble, dated August 11, 1903, in whichthe rotary spider has four depending blocks at ninety degrees apart andprovided with mechanism for rotating it intermittently so as to bring ateach period of movement one of the depending forming blocks with'thecarton held thereon into position tion not being limited to use inconnection with any particular carton holding mechanism. For this reasonthe spider which holds the forming blocks is not shown, only two of theholding blocks being shown in proper relative position for convenienceof illustration of the present invention.

The invention will be fully understood from the following descriptionwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, and the novelfeatures thereof will be pointed out and clearly defined in the claimsat the close of this s ecification.

In the drawings, igure 1 is a'front elevation of mechanism embodying theinvention. and shows the lower portions of two forming blocks whichcarry the cartons to be folded and sealed. These forming blocks aresupposed to be depending from a rotary spider such as previouslyreferred to, and to be ninety degrees apart from each other in thecircular path of movement. of the spider.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1 as viewedfrom the right of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed view of the spider which carries thefolding and gluing devices and some of the other parts of the machine,viewed as in Fig. 1, the bearing bracket and all parts in front of thespider being removed for the sake of clearness.

Fig. 4 is a detailed view enlarged of the I mechanism for operating thefirst folding finger.

Fig. 5 is a plan View of the glue feed roll, operating mechanism andglue tank.

Fig. 6 is a detailed view showing the mechanism for controlling thefirst glue roll to prevent gluing the block when there is a gap betweenthe adjacent ends of the first two folded flaps.

Fig. 7 is a detailed View of the side flap folding rolls in plan view.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the mechanism for operating the carton clampingmechanism and the flap retaining finger.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the mechanism foi'1 locking the cam whichcontrols the glue r0 s.

Referring now to the drawings, a represents one of the formingblocks onwhich a carton c is held and upon which the folding operation is inprocess of being performed. A forming block b is shown as in position tobe next brought into position for the folding and sealing operation, andis supposed to he ninety degrees away from the block a, said blocksdepending from the horizontal arms of a spider not shown, so that theforming blocks in their path of travel will move in a circular pathdescribing a vertical cylinder.

A horizontal shaft 1 is journaled in bearings in a bracket 2. Fixedlymounted on said shaft 1 as for instance by a key 3 is a spider 4, whichwhen the shaft rotates revolves in a vertical plane. Said spider isformed with two radiating portions 5 and 6 which radiate from the saidshaft as a center at an angle to each other. The radiating portion 5 hasextending therefrom an arm 7 which carries at its end a flap foldingmember 8, and an arm 9 which carries at its end a flap retaining member10, which will be more particularly described hereinafter.

There is mounted on the shaft 1, by means which will be hereinafterdescribed more fully, a folding arm 11 adapted to' fold the firstend-flap, 12, the folding. member 8 being adapted to fold the second endflap, 13, after the flap 12'has been folded.

.The two ,side flaps, 14 and 15 respec tively, will be afterward foldedin successive order by the folding rolls 16 and 17 shown in Fig. 2, by alateral movement as will be more particularly described hereinafter.These latter folding rolls 16 and 17 are' not mounted on the spider 4but-are moved independently of the spider, although actuated bymechanism so controlled as to properly time the movements of the sidefolding rollswith relation to the movements of the .folderfinger-ll andthe folder member 8 carried by the spider.

The mechanism for actuating the folding arm 11 for folding the firstflap is as fol lows The lower end of said arm 11 is connected with aboss 18 projecting from a segment gear 19 mounted loosely on the spidershaft 1, see Fig. 4. Preferably the said arm 11 is screw threaded at itslower end to engage with a threaded hole in the boss 18 so that the armmay be adjusted.

The segment gear 19 meshes with a sector gear 20 which is rotatablymounted on a stud 21, said stud 21 being mounted fast in the spider 4.The sector gear 20 has an arm 22 which carries at its outer end a roll23. A cam 24 is mounted fast on the bracket 2, or mounted in some otherway so as to be stationary, and the spider shaftl passes loosely throughsaid cam. The roll 23 carried by the arm 22 of the sector 20 engageswith the. periphery of said cam 24. As said sector is carried by thespider in the direction indicated by the arrow, that is counterclockwise, the said sector gear will also have a movement on its ownaxis and be caused to partially rotate as it rides over the periphery ofthe cam, rocking in one direction or the other according to thevariaspider shaft 1 and the boss 18 will rock in a vertical plane. Thisrocking movement of the segment gear 19.and boss 18 gives an oscillatingmovement to the arm 11. The periphery of the cam 24 isof such contourthat although the spider 4 rotates continuously counter clockwise, asshown by the arrow in Figs. 1 and 3, yet at a certain point in therotation of the spider, that is when the roll 23 rides over the highpart of the cam, that is from the point marked Z to the point marked Y,"thesector gear 20 will be rocked in such a direction that the segmentgear 19 will cause the arm 11 to swing in a direction opposite to thegeneral direction of travel of the spider, that is from the left to theright as viewed in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 and thereby fold the end flap 12 upagainst the bottom of the forming block, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. Inthose figures the said folding arm has nearly completed its foldingoperation and as will be seen in Fig. 4 the roll 23 is just about toride onto the high part of the cam. In

v the continued movement of the spider while the roll 23 is riding fromthe point Y on the cam to the point Y there is a dwell, and while ridingfrom the point Y to X on the cam the sector gear and the segment gearwill be rocked in the reverse direction thereby causing the arm 11 toswing back out of engagement with the flap 12 to give opportunity forthe folding member 8 to fold the second end flap 13 withoutinterference.

The folding finger 11 will be retained in this outward position whilethe spider completes its rotation, that is until the roll 23 hastraveled .from the point X to the point Z of the cam, this portion ofthe cam surface being concentric with the spider shaft, so that the arm11 will remain stationary with relation to the spider although itrevolves bodily with the spider around the axis of the spider.

The folding member 8 is carried by the arm 7 and rigidly connected withthe spider- The forward end of the foldingmember 8 will engage thesecond flap 13 and partially fold it before the first folding member 11begins to retreat, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The arms 11, however,begin to retreatimmediately following the position shown in Figs. 1 and3, and retreat fast enough to keep out ofthe way of the flap 13 as thefolding of said flap 13 is completed by the member 8.

The folder member 8 is preferably somewhat'U-shaped in plan view, thebow' of the U shape being at the left hand end 8 as viewed in Fig. 3which engages with the flap 13. The legs of the U preferably flareparticular feature of construction of the folding member 8, namely theflaring U shape, is notclaimed as a part of the present invention, it isnot shown in the drawings in detail but is described as above for thepurpose of more clearly understanding the general construction.

The glue roll 25 is mounted on a radially slidable spring seat as willnow be described. The glue roll 25 is journaled in the arms of aU-shaped bracket 26 which is secured. to a slide member 27. -Said slidemember 27 is slidable in grooved guides 2828 formed in the inner sidesrespectively of the folder arm 7 and the flap retainer arm 9 connectedwith the radiating arm 5 of the spider.

The folder arm 7 and the flap retainer carrying arm 9'are separated fromeach other by a slot-within which the slide member 27 moves in saidguides 28-28. The said slide member 27 is carried by arms 29 and 30 re-vspectively, the arm 29 being pivotally connected at one end by a pin 301to the flap retainer arm 9 and at its other end it is pivotallyconnected by a pin.31 to the slide 27. .The arm 30 is pivotallyconnected at one end by a pin 32 to the flap retainer arm 9 and at itsother end it is pivotally connected to the slide by a pin 33. The pin 33projects to some distance laterally outside adapted to be engaged by acam surface 37 for the purpose which will be described hereinafter.

A spring 36 is coiled around the pin 32, and has one arm which restsupon the hub 35 of the spider shaft 1, and another arm shown in dottedlines in Figs. 1 and 3, which bears against the under side of the hub ofarm 30, the stress of said spring 36 being such that it tends to pressthe slide 27 radially outward. This outward pressure is suflicient tohold the slide and therefore the roll 25 far enough outwardly to causethe glue roll to engage the under surface of the flap 13 during therotation of the spider. As the path of movement of the spider wouldnormally carry the glue roll bodily in share of a circle, and as theglue roll should travel in astraight line when it wipes over the surfaceof the flap 13, the spring seat of the slide 27, in which the glue rollis mounted, allows the slide to be pushed radially inward to compensatefor the tendency otherwise to move in a convex path. The means forcausing the glue roll to travel in a straight line when it moves overthe surface of the flap consists of the cam- 37 which is engaged by theroll 34 as will be more fully described hereinafter.

As one end of each of the arms 29 and 30 is fixed to the arm 9, theswinging end of said arms 29 and 30 while the slide is moving in and outmust move in the arc of a circle; therefore the slide 27 must be allowedsufiicient lateral clearance in the guides 28-28 to allow for thismovement. For that reason the grooved guideways must be sufficientlydeep to allow for such lateral movement. This extra clearance is shownby the space between the dotted lines as shown in Fig. 3. The two innerdotted lines indicate the edges of the slide, and the two outer dottedlines indicate the depth of the grooved ways. The glue roll 25 willtravel over the flap 13 and thence over the flap 12.

After the flaps 13 and 12 have beentraversed by the glue roll 25, thefirst side flap 14 will be folded over onto the flaps 13 and 12, but itis important to provide some means for holding the flap 13 from fallingback after it has been traversed by the glue roll 25 until the sidefoldingroll 16 can come into engagement with the side flap 14 to bringit up against the flaps 13 and 12. This is accomplished by a flapretaining member 10, which is carried by the arm 9 on the spider andswings lightly up into engagement with the flap 13 directly behind theglue roll 25 and before the flap 13 can fall down any great distance. Itis not necessary that the flap retainer 10 shall hold the it should holdit up sufliciently far so that it will be in position to be engaged andpressed of the slide and carries at its end a roll 3 1 I by the foldingof the flap 14;.

upward against the under side of the block This flap retainer 10 ispreferably a thin strip of sheet metal secured to the outer end of thearm 9 and which is seen in side elevation in Figs. 1 and 3 and in edgeview in Fig. 2. The outer edge of this flap retainer 10 is preferably onthe arc of a circle concentric with the spider shaft 1. The parts of themechanism are timed so that the tip end of the retainer 10 will ride offof the flap 13 in ample time to prevent interference with the side flapfolding roll 16. The flap retainer 10 is made thin in order not toscrape the glue from the under side of the flap 13, and for the samereason it preferably does not extend out far enough radially to pressthe flap 13 against the under side of the forming block, so that theonly pressure of the flap 13 upon the retainer is due simply to' theweight of the flap.

As already stated it is desirable that the glue roll shall travel in astraight line at the time it engages with the flap 13, that is that itshall change from a circular path to a straight path tangential to thecircular flap 13 pressed up against the flap 12, but

path of the periphery of the glue roll. Means for accomplishing this areas follows: A cam plate 371 is pivoted at one end by a pin 372 to oneside of the bracket. Said plate has on one side a cam flange 37 whichrests on the roll 34. Said flange is formed with a downward drop on acurve, and it is so located that just before the glue roll 25 is readyto engage the flap 13, the roll 34 carried on the stud 33 of the arm 30will engage the under side of the curved part of said flange 37 whichserves as a cam, and first lift the cam plate until the cam flangestrikes the stop screw 375 unless the cam ward curve of the cam 37 tocompensate for the normal downward swing of the glue roll, thus causingthe glue roll itself to travel in a straight line during all of the timethat the roll 34 is riding on the cam surface of the flange 37. The stoppin 375 is adjustable and should be so adjusted as to allow the cam tobe lifted enough so that the slide may move out far enough for the glueroll to-wipe'against the under face of the flap 13. The stop pin isshown as a screw which is screwed down through a flange'373 projectingfrom one side of the bracket 374/ See Fig. 1.

The means to prevent the glueroll 25 from engaging the bottom of thecarton holderJolock if there is a gap between the adjacent ends of theflaps 12 and 13, and yet allow it to glue both of said flaps, is asfollows: Secured to the cam plate 371 is an arm 381 carrying a roll 382projecting therefrom. A cam block 38 is secured to the flap retainer arm9 in a position where its inclined edge 383 will engage the'roll 382just before the glue roll 25 passes off of the flap 13. The block 38 isset so that the inclined edge 383 will act as a cam and by itsengagement with the roll 382 will depress the cam plate 371, therebyalso retracting the slide 27 by reason of the cam flange 37 pressing onthe roll 34 carried by the arm 30. This will cause the glue roll to dropdown far enough to not contact with the block a. As soon as the spiderhas rotated far enough for the cam block 38 to ride off of the roll 382.the cam plate 371 is free to respond to the outward push of the roll 34against the cam flange 37 under the stress of the spring 36. The camblock 38 is of such size that it will release the cam plate 371 as soonas the glue roll 25 has passed the gap between the flaps 13 and 12.

- The block 38 is preferably secured to the spider in such manner thatit may be readily detachedand a block of different size substituted,according to the length of gap between the flaps. If screws 39 areemployed to attach the block, the different sized blocks may have screwholes spaced so as to lit the screw holes in the spider. If the cartonshave flaps which do not leave a gap between them, the block 38 will bedetached and entirely left off.

. The mechanism for folding the side flaps will now be described, firstconsidering the mechanism for folding the first side flap 14. A folderroll 16 is mounted in a forked arm 40, which is pivoted on a pin 41between the vertical forked arms 42 of a bracket 44 which is secured tothe slide 45, said slide being slidably mounted in grooved ways in abracket'top 46. The bracket 44 is preferably adjustably secured to theslide 45, so

that it may be adjusted to a more forward or backward position. Themeans shown is a screw 441 which passes through an elongated slot in thebracket and is screwed into the slide. A spring 47, coiled around thepin 41, has one arm which engages a shoulder 42 as a stop, and anotherarm which engages a shoulder on the roller-carrying arm 40, said armstending to spread so that the stress of the spring tends to lift or turnupward the arm 40 and the roll 16.

The slide 45 is actuated at the proper time, after the two end flapshave been folded and glued, to move inward, that is to the left asviewed in Fig. 2, to engage the downwardly extending flap 14 and fold itup against the two previously folded flaps. The mechanism for doing thisis as follows :On the under side of the slide 45 is secured a rackspring52 is connected at one end with the arm 50 between the fulcrum point onthe stud 51 and the toothed sector end 49, the other end of said sprinbeing secured to the stationary bracket 2. aid spring is always undertension and tends to pull the sector 49 toward the left from theposition shown in Fig. 2, but is normally restrained therefrom by meanswhich will presently be described. When it is free to pull the saidsector gear to the left, it will cause the slide 46 to move to the leftcarrying with it the arm 40 and the folding roller 16, causing it toengage the flap 14 and fold it up against the previously folded flaps 12and'13.

The means for normally restraining, however, the said movement of thesector arm 50 is as follows: The bell crank of which the arm 50 is apart hasan arm 53'carrying a roller 54 which rides on .the periphery offlaps 12 and 13 have been folded. At that time a drop in the peripheryof the cam will come around tothe roll 54, thus allowing the arms 53 andto respond to the pull of the spring 52. This will cause the sector gear49 to actuate the slide 45 toward the left as viewed in Fig. 2, causingthe folding roll 16 to move forward and fold up the flap 14 against thefl'aps 12-13. A slight further rotation of the cam 55 will bring theroll 54 up out of the depression in the cam causing the sector arm 50 torock backward and therefore carrying back the slide and the folder roll16.

After the flap 14 has been folded it is necessary that its under surfaceshould be glued, and then the fourth flap 15 will be folded up againstflap 14. It is important, however, that the flap 14 should be heldagainst dropping down after the folder roll 16 retreats and during thegluing of the flap 14. The flap retaining and gluing mechanism for theflap 14 is as follows :-The arm 6 is bifurcated similar to the arm 5,forming a slot between a flap retaining arm 56 and a second flapretaining arm 57, whose purpose will be hereinafter described. A flapretainer blade 58 is mounted on the end of the arm 56, said retainerblade 58 being curved on its outer edge on'the arc of a circleconcentric with the spider shaft and being made thin for the same reasonas already described with relation to flap retainer 10. Its radius ispreferably slightly less than the distance from the center of rotationof the spider to the flap 14 so that when the retainer arm reaches itshighest point in its path of rotation it will not press the flap,against the under side of the block but will serve merely to lightlysupport the flap 14 if the flap 14 drops down a very slight distance inthe same way as described for the flap retainer 10 to engage the flap,

18. The flap retainer 58 will come up into position to support the flap14 just as the folder roll 16 withdraws.

A glue roll 59 is journaled on a stud mounted in a forked bracket 60carried on the end of a slide 61 which moves in grooved Ways 62 in asimilar Way as the glue roll 25 is mounted, and is also actuated in asimilar way to the glueroll 25, .that is by the arms 63 and 64. The arm63 is pivoted at one end to the arm '57 and at its other end to theslide 61, and the arm 64 is pivoted at one end to the arm 57 and at itsother end to a stud 65 projecting from the slide 61 and carrying at itsouter end a roll 66.. A spring 67 is provided similar to the spring 36and similarly connected and engaging the stud 65 and the hub 35, saidspring having a tendency to thrust the slide outward, and yielding asthe roll engages the cam.

37 to cause the glue roll to travel in a straight path.

Immediately after the flap 14 has been glued, the flap retaining blade68 carried by the arm 57 comes intoposition to help support the flap14and prevent it from dropping until the flap 15 is turned up far enoughto hold the flap 14. The means for folding the flap 15 are very similarto the folding mechanism for the flap 14. The flap folder roll 17 iscarried between the branches of the forked arm 69 pivoted on the stud70, said stud 70 being journaled in forked bearings 71 rising from abracket 72 which is mounted on a slide 73 in a bracket top 74.1 Thebracket 72 is adjustably secured to the slide in the same manner as the.bracket 44 is se cured to the slide 45. See Fig. 7. The

pose as the spring '47 connected with the,

folder arm 40. The cam 81 is formed with the cam surface'so shaped as topermit the lever arm 77 to respond to the pull of the fsipri'ng 83 atthe proper time to fold the After the last flap has been folded apresser device 178 will come .into engagement with. the said last foldedflap to press it and the previously folded flaps against the block withsufficient force and for sufficient length of time to cause the flaps toall adhere together. The presser mechanism, is not shown in detail as itforms no part of the present invention.

After the last flap 15 has been folded, it is important that the saidlastfiap should be held from dropping down before the presser member,previously referred to, has opportunity to engage the flap and press itup firmly against the block. This intermediate retaining device is asfollows: An

arm 170 is mounted on a vertical pin 171 in such a manner as to becapable of an OS- cillating movement in a horizontal plane, and carriesa finger-at 172 having a bent portion 17 3, which when the said arm 170oscillates in one direction is adapted to be swung forward directlyunderneath the last folded flap of the carton. Rigidly connected withthe arm 170 so as to move there with is an arm 174 which carries a roll175 which'engages with the periphery of a cam 176. A spring 177 retainsthe said roll 175 in constant engagement with said cam. lVhen the roll175 is on the high part of the cam, the finger 173 will be in aretracted position, as shown in Fig. 8. lVhen, however, the roll 175rides from the high part of the cam into the drop in the cam, the finger173 will be thrown forward just be neath the forming block in a positionto engage the folded flap. This is timed to occur just as the last flapis folded.

It is important that the cartons should be clamped firmly to the formingblock during the folding and sealing of the bottom flaps, so that itshall not slip off of the block or slip down out of position. Mechanismis shown in the drawings for that purpose, there being provided a clampfor each of two-opposite sides. The clamping mecha nism for one side ofthe block is as follows: An adjustable stud 85 carried by an sh-aft 92.A spring 93 has one end connected at 94 with a fixed part of the frame,and at its other en jection 95 rigidly connected with the arm 89 of thebell crank. The stress of this spring tends to hold the clamp 87 firmlyagainst the side of the carton. The cam 91 is formed with a risingportion 96, and when during the rotation of the shaft 92 the roller 90rides up on the high part 96 of the cam, it will rock the bell crank onits fulcrum 88 and turn it backward so as to withdraw the clamp 87 fromengagement with the carton. The parts are all so timed with relation toeach other that the roll will ride up on this high part of the cam atthe proper time to release the clamp from the carton, and will againride off of the high part of the cam to permit the clamp to respond tothe stress of the spring at the proper time, when the spider whichcarries the forming blocks brings a forming block with anew carton on itinto position to be folded.

The clamping member for the opposite side of the carton is similar inmost respects to the clamping mechanism already described, but slightlydifferent in detail, and

its release is controlled by the mechanism for releasing the firstclamping member. The second clamping mechanism is as follows: A clamp 97is carried by a stud 98 adjustably connected with an arm 99 fast on isconnected with a pro-- shafl 100. A spring 101 tends to hold the arm inposition to maintain the clamp in clamping engagement with the carton;said spring 101 is a push spring while the spring is a pull spring. Anarm 102 which is rigidly connected with arm 99 has adjustably connectedtherewith a stop screw 103,.

. angle and connected with an arm 107 which in turn is connected withone end of a horizontal rocker shaft 108. The other end of the rockershaft 108 has connected therewith an arm 109 which in turn is connectedwith the bent lower end of the vertical connecting rod 110, the upperend of said rod 110 being connected with one end of an arm 111 whoseother end is fixedly connected with the shaft 88 on which the bell crank86 is mounted. By the connections thus described when the bell crank 86is rocked by the engagement of thehigh partof the cam 96 with the roll90 to retract the clamp 87, the opposite clamp 97 will also beretracted. I

The means by which the glue roll is prevented from being projected outfar enough to engage the bottom of the forming block sition, as shown inFig. 1. If it is locked in that lowermost position, then when during therotation of the spider the roll 34 on the arm 30 rides on'the under sideof the cam 37 the slide 27 which carries the glue roll 25 will not bepermitted to move out far enough radially under the impulse of thespring for the glue roll to engage either the carton or the block,although the glue roll will still move in a straight path as it passesunder the block, by reason of the cam 37. Means are provided. to thuslock the cam plate 371 in its lowermost position each time after theblock-carrying spider, (not shown). begins to move to carry away theblock on which a carton ward depending flaps. When the cam plate is thusunlocked, it is permitted to be lifted a limited distance by the roll 34on the arm 30 before the roll rides under the curved part of the cam 37,the amount of the lift being sufficient to permit the slide 27 whichcarries the glue roll to be moved radially outward far enough for theglue roll to Wipe against the under side of the fiap 13, as previouslydescribed.

The locking means for locking the cam 37 in its lowermost position areas follows: See Figs. 1, 2 and 9. A lug 115 projects laterally from oneside of the plate 371. A bracket 116 is fixedly secured to a verticalrocker shaft 117, as showrf in the drawings, Figs. 1 and 9. Said bracketis formed with two lugs 118 and 119, apertured to receive the shaft 117which fits tightly in said apertures so that the bracket will rock withthe shaft. A finger 120 projects laterally from the upper end of thebracket, and is adapted to extend over the top of the lug 115 and when.in that position it will prevent the cam plate 371 from rising, thuslocking it so that the slide 27 which carries the glue roll will beprevented from being moved out far enough for the glue roll to come incontact with the block during therotation of the spider, provided thelock is not released.

Said rocker shaft 117 extends vertically downward, (see Figs. 1 and 2)and at its lower end is'connected with one end of an arm 121, the otherend of the arm being connected with one end of a rod 122, the other endof said rod 122 being connected with an arm 123, said arm 123 also beingconuected with the. lower end of a vertical rocker shaft 124; the upperend of said rocker shaft 124 has a finger 125 projecting laterallytherefromwhich when the cam plate 371 is located in its downwardposition extends into the dotted line position shown in Fig. 1, that isin the path of the downwardly extending flap 14 of the carton on theblock b.

\Vhen the parts are in position with c am plate locked, and the finger125 extending into the path of the flap 15, then when the spider whichcarries the forming blocks r0- tates after the carton on the block a hashad its bottom sealed and begins to more off and the block 7) begins tomove through its circular path of travel to bring it next into positionpreviously occupied by the block a, the flap 15 will by its engagementwith the finger 125 rock the shaft 124 and this in turn will swing the,a rni 123 in a horizontal plane. thereby moving the connecting rod 122and swinging the arm 121- in a horizontal plane. thus rocking thevertical shaft 117 suflicient to turn the finger 120 out of a lockedposition with relation to the lug 115 on the cam plate 371. This allowsthe said cam plate to be lifted by the roll 34 under the stress of thespring 36 until the cam plate strikes the stop 375 and the glue rollwill be carried outward by the slide 27 into operative position withrelation to the flap 13.

The means for turning the rocker shaft 117 back again, to bring thefinger 120 into a locking position after the spider 4 has rotated farenough for the second roll 59 to have performed its operation, is asfollows: Secured to the vertical rocker shaft 124 is an arm 126 which isconnected with one end of a rod 127 whose other end is connected withone end of an arm 128 pivoted on a stud connected with the frame. Saidarm carries at 129 a roller 130 which engages with the cam 131 mountedon shaft 92. Said cam 131 has an operative surface so that at the propertime in the rotation of the shaft 92, (which is properly timed andcontrolled in its rotation by the driving shaft which drives the othermechanisms) the shaft 117 will rock in a direction the reverse of thatin which it was actuated by the engagement of the finger 125 by thedepending flap of the carton on the block I), thus turning the lockingfinger 120 back into position over the lug 115 on the pivoted cam plate371 and it remains in its locking position until it shall be againreleased by a depending fiap on another carton.

The spider shaft 1 is driven by a main shaft 140 through any suitableconnection. The connection shown is a sprocket chain 141 which runs overa sprocket wheel 142 on the main shaft and a sprocket wheel 144 on thespider shaft.

The shaft 92 is driven by gear connection 145 on the main shaft with thegear 146 on the shaft 92.

The glue rolls 25- and 59 are supplied with glue by comingin contact ateach rotation of the spider with a gluing roll 150, which is mounted ona shaft 151 on which is mounted a wheel 152 driven by any suitablemeans. Said glue roll 150 dips into a glue tank 153. The shaft 151carries a spur gear 154 which in turn meshes with a gear 155 mounted ona shaft 156, which carries a roll 157. Said roll 157 is smaller than theroll 150 and the bearings for the shaft 156 are so positioned that theroll 157 will very nearly come in contact with the roll 150. The twogears 154 and 155 bear the same ratio to each other as the glue rolls150 and 157, so that they will rotate at the same speed. The purpose ofthe small roll 157 is to regulate the thickness of the film of gluewhich will be carried by the gluing roll 150. The bearings 158 for theshaft 156 may be adjusted to bring the roll 157 nearer to or fartheraway from the gluing roll 150 by means of the adjusting screws 159,

Scrapers 160 are provided at the opposite sides ofthe gluing roll 157,to take off any glue that may be forced out sidewise from between thegluing rolls 150 and 157.

l/Vhat I claim is 1. In a machine for folding and sealing the endforming flaps of a carton, the combination of a stationary former onwhich a carton is held with the end forming flaps extending beyond theend of the former, a rotary member, an oscillatable folding membercarried by said rotary member, and means for causing said folding memberto rock in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of therotary member on which it is mounted and fold one of the carton flapsagainst the end of the former into a plane tangent to the arc of movement of the said folding member.

2. In a machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of acarton, the combination of a stationary former on which a carton is heldwith the end forming flaps extending beyond the end of the former, arotary meme ber, an oscillatable folding member carried by said rotarymember, means for causing said folding member to rock in the oppositedirection to the direction of movement of the rotary member on which itis mounted and fold one of the carton flaps against the end of theformer into a plane tangent to the arc of movement of the said foldingmember, and a second folding member carried by the said rotary member,and stationary with relation thereto, so positioned that in thecontinued rotation of the said rotary member said folding member willengage the extending flap opposite the first folded flap and fold itagainst the end of the former into the same plane with the said firstfolded flap.

3. In a machine for folding and sealing end forming flaps of cartons, aformer on which the carton is held in tubular form with distendingflaps, a rotary member which rotates in one direction, an oscillatablefolding member carried by said rotary member, means for causing saidfolding member to rock in the opposite direction to the direction ofmovement of the rotary member on which it is mounted, and fold one ofthe carton flaps against the end of the former, a second folding membercarried by said rotary member so positioned that it will engage one ofthe distending flaps opposite the first folded flap after the first flaphas been folded, and fold it up against the end of the former, and aglue roll carried by said rotary member so positioned that it-Willengage the said second folded flap after it has been folded.

4. In a machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartonswhile the carton is held in tubular form on a forming block, arotary-spider which rotates in a plane at right an les to the plane ofthe end of the block which holds the carton, a folder member mounted onsaid spider and means for causing said folder member to rock in abackward direction counter to the direction of movement of the spider,and fold one'of the flaps of the carton, the said folder member movingin a path tangent to the end of the forming block against which the endflap is folded.

5. In a machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartonswhile the carton is held in tubular form on a forming block, a rotaryspider which rotates in a plane at'ri ht angles to the plane of the endof the bloc which holds the carton, a folder member mounted on saidspider, means for causing said folder member to rock in a backwarddirection counter to the direction of movement of the spider, andtangent to the end of the forming block to fold the first flap of thecarton, means for causing said folder member to then rock forward in thegeneral direction of movement of the spider and a second folder membercarried by said spider which after the first folder member has performedits function engages a second flap opposite said first folded flap andfolds it up against the end of the former, the said second folder membertraveling in a path substantially tangent to the end of the formingblock against which the flaps are folded.

(3. A machine for folding and sealing the said folder member to rock ina backward direction counter to the direction of movement of the spider,and fold the first flap of the carton. means for causing said foldermember to then rock forward in the general direction of movement of thespider, a second folder member carried by said spider which after thefirst folder member has performed its function engages a second flapopposite said first folded fiap and folds it up against the end of theformer, and a glue roll mounted on said spider which follows said secondfolding member and rides over the outer face of said second foldedflap.

7. A machine for folding and sealing end forming flaps of cartons havingin combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at right anglesto the plane of the end forming flap of the carton and a glue rollhaving a spring-seated mount carried by the said spider.

8. A machine for folding and sealing end forming flaps of cartons havingin combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at right anglesto the plane of the end forming flap of the carton and a glue rollhaving a spring-seated mount carried vby the said spider, saidspring-seated mount being movable radially with relation to the axis ofrotation of the spider.

9. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartonshaving in combination a .rotary spider, means carried thereby forsuccessively folding two opposite flaps of the carton, a glue rollcarried thereby which engages the said folded flaps, means for folding athird flap over said previously folded and glued 'flaps, and a secondglue roll which is carried by the spider into---position"'to engage the.third folded flap.

10. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps for cartonshaving in combination a rotary spider, means carried thereby forsuccessively folding two opposite flaps of the carton, a glue rollcarried thereby which engages the said folded flaps, means for folding athird flap over said previously folded and glued flaps, a second glueroll which is carried by the spider into position to engage the thirdfolded flap, and a flap retainer which is carried by said spider andengages the second folded flap after the first gluing roll has passedover the flap and before the third flap folder folds the third flap.

11. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps for cartons,having in combination a rotary spider, means carried thereby forsuccessively folding two opposite flaps of the cartons, a glue rollcarried thereby which engages the said folded flaps. means for folding athird flap over said previously folded and glued flaps, a second glueroll which is carried by the spider into position to engage the thirdfolded flap, a flap retainer which is carried by said spider and engagesthe second folded flap after the first gluing roll has passed over theflap and before the third flap folder folds the third flap, and a secondflap retainer carried by said spider which engages the third flap afterit has been folded and before the second glue roll comes into engagementwith said third flap.

12. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartonshaving in combination a rotary spider. means carried thereby forsuccessively folding two opposite flaps of the carton, a glue rollcarried thereby which engages the said folded flaps, means for folding athird flap over said previously folded and glued flaps. a second glueroll which is carried by the spider into position to engage the thirdfolded flap. a flap retainer which is carried by said spider and engagesthe second folded flap after the first gluing roll has the said thirdflap after it is glued.

13. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartonshaving in combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at rightangles to the plane of the folded end flaps, two folding members carriedby said spider which successively engage two opposite distended flapsandfold them to partially form the end of the carton, a gluing devicecarried by said spider into position to glue the second folded flap,means for folding the third flap and a second gluing mechanism carriedby said spider in position to glue the third folded flap, said secondgluing mechanism being independent of said first gluing mechanism.

14. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartonshaving in combination a rotary spider carrying two flap folding membersand two gluing members, and means for rotating said spider tosuccessively bring said folding members and gluing members intooperative positionto fold and to glue different flaps of the carton.

15. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartonshaving in combination a rotary spider carrying two flap folding membersand two gluing members, means for rotating said spider to successivelybring said folding members and gluing members into operative position tofold and to glue different flaps of the carton, means for folding athird and fourth flap of the carton and means for controlling themovements of said-several folding and gluing members in such manner thattwo opposite flaps will be first successively folded and then glued,then. the third flap .will be folded and glued, then the fourth flapwill be folded.

16. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartonshaving in combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at rightangles to the plane of the folded flaps, means carried by said spiderfor folding certain of the flaps, means carried by the spider for gluingcertain of the flaps, and a flap retainer blade carried by the spider tosupport one of the folded flaps until the next flap is ready to befolded, said retainer blade having an outer periphery which is curved onan arc of a circle concentric with the axis of rotation of the spider.

17. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons,having in combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at rightangles to the plane of the folded flaps, means carried by saidl spiderfor successively folding certain of the flaps one over another, and aflap retainer blade carried by the spider to engage and support one ofthe folded flaps until the next flap is ready to be folded over=toretain said first flap in position.

18. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons,having in combination a rotary spider which rotates in a plane at rightangles to the plane of the folded flaps, means carried by said spiderfor successively folding certain of the flaps one over another, and aflap retainer blade carried by the spider to engage and support one ofthe folded flaps until the next flap is ready to be folded over saidfirst flap, said retainer blade having an outer periphery which iscurved on an arc of a circle concentric with the axis of rotation of thespider.

19. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartonshaving in combination a block to receive a tubular carton, said blockhaving an end against which the flaps are folded, a rotary spider and aglue roll mounted on said spider in position to engage one of the foldedflaps during the movement of the spider.

20. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons,having in combination a holder to receive a carton having distendedflaps, a rotary member, means carried by said rotary member which duringits rotation engages and folds certain of the flaps, and a glue rollmounted on said rotary member in position to follow after the foldingand engage one of the folded flaps during the movement of said rotarymember.

21. A machine for folding and sealingthe end forming flaps of cartons,having in combination a block to receive a tubular carton with distendedflaps, said block having an end against which the flaps are to befolded, a rotary spider mounted independent of said block, and a flapfolder carried by said spider, which when the spider rotates movesadjacent the said block and engages with and folds one of the endforming flags during the rotation of the spider.

22. machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartons,having in combination a block to receive a tubular carton, said blockhaving an end against which the flaps are to be folded, a rotary spider,a plurality of flap folders carried by the spider, means for actuatingsaid flap folders to successively fold the flaps, and a flap retainercarried by said spider which during the rotation of the spider engagesthe prior one of the said folded flaps to hold it in folded positionuntil the next flap is folded up against the said. previously foldedflap.

23. A machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of cartonshaving in combination a block on which the tubular cartons are mountedand having an end against which the flaps are to be folded, means forfolding two opposite flaps against the end of said block, a movablegluing device, means for moving said gluing device over the outer faceof said two flaps, and means for causing the gluing device to skip anintermediate portion.

24. A machine of the character described having a rotary spider, a slidemounted in said spider movable radially with relation to the axis ofrotation of said spider, a gluing device carried by said slide, an armpivotally connected at one end to the spider and pivotally connected atits other end to said slide, a projection on said arm and cam pivotallyconnected at one end to a fixed part of the machine, the other end ofthe cam resting on the said projection from the arm of the slide, aspring which tends to thrust said slide radially outward and a stopwhich is adapted to engage said'c'am, and thereby through the engagementof said cam with the projection on the slide-carried arm to limit theoutward thrust of the said slide.

25. A machine of the character described having a rotary spider, a slidemounted in said spider movable radially with relation to the axis ofrotation of said spider, a gluing device carried by said slide, an armpivotally connected at one end to the spider and pivotally connected atits other end to said slide, a projection on said arm, a cam pivotallyconnected at one end to a fixed part of the machine, the other end ofthe cam resting on the said projection from the arm of the slide, aspring which tends to thrust said slide radially outward and a stopwhich is adapted to engage. said cam, and thereby through the engagementof said cam with the projection on the slide-carried arm to limit theoutward thrust of the said slide, said cam being formed with a convexpor- 1 ti'on which during the rotation of the spider is adapted toengage said projecting portion on the slide-carried arm to compensatefor the normally curved path of movement of the gluing device, and causethe gluing device to move for a limiteddistance in a straight path.

26. A machine of the character described having a rotary spider, a slidemounted in said spider movable radially with relation to the axis ofrotation of said spider, a gluing member carried by said slide, an armpivotally connected at one end to the spider and pivotally connected atits other end to said slide, a projection on said arm, a cam pivotallyconnected at one end to a fixed part of the machine, the other end ofthe cam resting on the said projection from the arm of the slide, aspring which tends to thrust said slide radially outward, a stop whichis adapted to engage said cam, and thereby through the engagement ofsaid cam with the projection on the slide-carried arm to limit theoutward thrust of the said slide, said cam being formed with a convexportion which during the rotation of the spider is adapted to engagesaid projecting portion on the slide-carried arm to compensate for thenormally curved ath-of movement of the gluing device, an( cause thegluing device to move for a limited distance in a straight path, alockin member which normally engages the sai cam to hold it in asomewhat retracted position,a movable carton carrying member, meanscontrolled by a carton carried by said carton carrying member to releasesaid lock, and means which when said lock is released causes the cam tomove to a position fartaway from the axis of rotation of the spider,whereby the straight line movement of the gluing member takes place in aline farther removed from the axis of rotation of the spider than whensaid cam is in its locked position.

27. A machine of the character described having a rotary spider, aspring-seated slide mounted in said spider movable radially withrelation to the axis of rotation of said spider, a gluing member carriedby said slide, a cam pivotally connected at one end to the 'fixed partof the machine, a projection on said slide which during the rotation ofthe spider engages said cam, said cam being formed with a curved face ofsuch form that when. said projection rides on said curved face the saidslide is caused-to move radially inward and thereby compensate for thenormally curved path of travel of the gluing member carried by theslide, and a member carried by said spider which also engages with saidcam during an intermediate portion of the engagement of said pro-,jection on the slide with said cam, whereby the said gluing device iscaused to move in a retracted path for a predetermined distance.

28. In a machine for folding and sealing the end forming flaps of acarton, the combination of a stationary forming block upon which thecarton is held, a rotary carrier, flap folders and flap gluing rollsmounted on said carrier, the said rotary carrier during its rotation onits axis causin the flap folders to fold two end flaps of t e cartonagainst the block and causing the gluing rolls to pass over the foldedflaps and apply a layer of glue thereto, both the flap folders and thegluing rolls passing over and continuin beyond the end face of the blockafter t eir separate functions are performed.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

GEORGE A. 'ROBINSON.

